Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-09-07

/ "
| Z foolin' round tn barrel O. maple
strip till he'd got tn faucet loose N
tn strip come a-pourin' out Then
he'd Jest put his mouth & it N drunk
till he'd got plum full. N all tn time
he'd been a-paddlin' in the strip a-run-
MIN out on tn floor till he'd got daubed
all over 18th IL. Bimeby he'd got sick
1 18th so much sweetnin', N then he'd
climbed in through tibet open window
fer sympathy. IN he'd pulled down bout
every thin in tn house tryin' & find a
doctor. N when he couldn't find any
body he'd nacherly gone up stairs e
bed, like any invalid-he'd tuken many
nap in mothers beds afore, N no
amount O. whippin' d ever cured him
o. tn trick, n so mother found him
there, the sickest bear you ever saw.
Well, that wuz th'-last o. Bruno. TIL
rest o. tn family sed he made most I'M
common good eatin', bein' so nice n
fat, but / never had tn heart t find
out. m l never had another pet bar. !"
"Were there any panthers in the
woods where you lived, grandpap"
asked one of the boys, after the bear
story had been well digested.
PLENTY, plenty O. painters, but they
didn't come round ter git acquainted
very much, though. One o. those
blamed varmints did come once, N we
had all we wanted, eff he didn't stay
long-that, is, till he begun ter stay,
cause he could help himself. One fall
father N mother left us young folks
alone, n went off ter tn next settle
ment ter Methodist quart'ly meetin',
m Civ my next oldest brother general
charge O. tn family. They wuz gone
three nights. We wuzn't afraid N
he'd purity good times keepin' house
'thou't amy bosses. But tn third
night, long bout midnight, we heerd
a cry like child's, N purity soon it
came closer N closer N Tige N Bose,
our two big dogs, they gunter bark III
make big fus. Purity soon Abe, my
biggest brother, got up out O. bed N
sed he knowed that wuz painter come
up into tn clearin' ter git one o. our
yung pigs, n fer his part he wuzn't
goin' ter stand no such thievin'. Eff
that painter wanted fresh pork he'd
got ter fight fer it. Pigs wuz pigs, 1
tell we, II them days N mighty scarce
N kept close-that's tn reason tn
| pig pen wuz so close t tn house. l
wuzn't only a small chunk o. boy,
but I thought Abe was about right, N
1 said I'd help. So we got down faith
er's big rife from tn deer-horns
over the fire-place-it w alters loaded
IN stepped out careful into the yard.
1t wuz bright moonlight, N we could
see tn dogs jumpin' round under big
tree tibet father'd left standing near tn
house so S to give shade, their hair
jest standin' up straight, N both mad
IS they could be. They wuz old hunters
N fighters, N we know'd they wuz
more'n 'possum up tibet tree. Tn
| pig-pen wuz atween tn tree N tn
house, n Abe sed he knowed they wuz
a painter in-thc tree, N plannin' ter
jump down in tn pen N git one o. tn
new pigs. TIL old SOW wuz awful ex-
cited N gnashin' her teeth N threat
min what she'd do T she only got a
chance. We crep' along few feet
from tn house, N looked up in tn tree
purity careful, too-but didn't sec
emmy thin for long time, till at last
Abe sed, all excited like: Il see i'm! l
see i'm! n pointed out to me, IN
looked, N on big limb t reached over
lords tn house l see two sparks, IS l
thought. Purity soon i saw long
black body N long tail to it, N tn
painter wuz n switchin' it jest like
big cat. Abe he jest gritted his
teeth m sided up to tn corner o. tn
house where one o. tn logs stuck out
where it wuzn't chopped off when they
built it, N laid tn old gun across it IN
cooked il N begun ter take aim. !
creep up ahind him II held my breath.
Tn dogs they'd got lots worse when
they saw us come out T. help 'em, N
bounced round like they wuz injun-rub-
Der. didn't know till father told me
afterwards tibet them dogs did thet way
cause they wuz so sharp t they knowed
eff they didn't the painterd hoped onto
EN- too quick, n they he'd sense enough
t know that wasn't what they wanted
Jest then. Well, Abe he took a long
sight waz holdin' my breath, N
jest bout tn time I'd begun to think
he wuzn't ever gon' ter shoot N I'd
never get my breath back, bang she
went! Down come somcthin' out o.
tn tree, whack! on the ground, no ten
feet away from us, N fore could bat
my eyes tn two dogs ez onto it, IN
they waz the biggest yeowlin', N
growlin', n spittin', IN scratchin', N
fghtin' you ever heard n your born
days. Il looked like the whole clear
in was full o. painter N dogs, n hair,
N fur, N claws. Then the painter give
one big scrcech', N turned over N
kicked, N lay still, N the dogs come
over where we wuz, worse scared III we
thought they'd be, a lickin' their chaps
n all bloody N muddy IN tired, but
prouder'n peacocks. That painter
measured more'n nine feet, tail N all,
N eff we'd seen him in daylight we'd
bin willin' T. told him he was welcome
to all tn fresh pork he wanted, he wuz
tibet savage 18th his long teeth N wild
eyes. Abe he'd hit him in tn body
near tn heart N the bullet he'd gone
on n broke his backbone, 80 when he
went t spring he jest tumbled, n
when he went Z fight he only he'd his
front quarters ter home, so to speak,
IN the dogs got away 18th him. Father
wuz awful surprised when he got
home 'cn saw it, n sed we didn't
know what risk we run r we'd never
bin fools enough T. try it. He wuz
awful proud NV us, though, but he
didn't say SO, n we wuz so stuck up
over 1t ourselves t we didn't pay no
attention Z Shortcomings tibet way fer
er long time"
The children were vastly interested,